What is it? Home equity loans are for a fixed amount of money for a fixed time and at a fixed interest rate — but they are secured by your home. That means your home is collateral, and if you default on your loan, the lender may foreclose on your home. You can borrow a certain percentage of your home equity. That’s how much your home is worth minus how much you owe on the mortgage.
If I shop around for a balance transfer credit card, my score will get crushed: FALSE! If your score does decline, it probably will not decline by much. You can expect 10-20 points per credit application. But, remember: you apply for a balance transfer to help reduce your balance faster. When you open a new credit card and transfer your balance, then you will be able to:
Are you the type of credit-holder who likes to open multiple credit lines at the same time, like store credit cards during the holiday season? This type of financial behavior will impact the fourth factor used to calculate your credit score: new credit lines. With this category, it’s not so much about opening many new credit lines, it’s about how many new credit lines you are opening. In other words, you do NOT want to open 3 to 4 new credit cards at the same time – this will be counter productive to your credit score.
Another avenue to pursue to improve your credit score as quickly as possible is to negotiate with your creditor and credit bureaus to see if they are will to make adjustments. This can be especially effective if you have established a current strong payment record. In that case, a creditor can often be persuaded to remove previously reported late payments as a “goodwill” gesture based on your current payment history, and to encourage you to maintain the course.
Here is a simple test. (This is not 100% accurate mathematically, but it is an easy test). Divide your credit card interest rate by 12. (Imagine a credit card with a 12% interest rate. 12%/12 = 1%). In this example, you are paying about 1% interest per month. If the fee on your balance transfer is 3%, you will break even in month 3, and will be saving money thereafter. You can use that simplified math to get a good guide on whether or not you will be saving money.

Consolidation means that your various debts, whether they are credit card bills or loan payments, are rolled into one monthly payment. If you have multiple credit card accounts or loans, consolidation may be a way to simplify or lower payments. But, a debt consolidation loan does not erase your debt. You might also end up paying more by consolidating debt into another type of loan.

Premier America is unique because it has the Student Mastercard® from Premier America CU that’s eligible for the intro 0% for 6 months on balance transfers, though credit limits on that card are $500 – $2,000. There is an 11.50% Variable APR after the intro period. There’s also a card for those with no credit history – the Premier First Rewards Privileges® from Premier America CU, with limits of $1,000 – $2,000 and a 19.00% Variable APR. If you’re looking for a bigger line, the Premier Privileges Rewards Mastercard® from Premier America CU is available with limits up to $50,000 and a 8.45% - 17.95% Variable APR.
To see any major or fast credit repair, try to balance your credit utilization. In the credit industry, there is something known as the sweet spot, which we covered above. The goal with this tip is to get your credit utilization into this category, or 25%-45%. So, we highly suggest creating a game plan by setting aside all your debt and categorizing in terms of priorities. Ask yourself the following questions:
Risks: Overall, a student card can be a great asset for your teen to have in college, but there are a few risks to beware of. If your teen overspends so much that they max out their credit limit, they risk harming their utilization rate — which is the amount of credit they use divided by their total credit limit. For example, if your teen has a $500 credit limit and uses $400, their utilization rate would be 80% ($400/$500). That’s very high, and we recommend keeping utilization below 30%.
Although you may understand the concept of credit limits, few people take the time to examine their credit utilization—or the amount of debt owed vs. the total credit limit. An ideal credit score boasts a utilization ratio of 25 percent or less. If you have a $10,000 credit limit, you should never charge more than $2,500 at a time. The same goes for individual cards. For example, Margot has three credit cards with the following limits:
Your credit history comprises of all of your credit accounts, past, and present. This includes records of each time a lender asked for your credit report and the number of times it was passed onto collection agencies. QuickCreditRepair is a free credit repair service that facilitates debtors in checking their credit, disputing errors, and building their credit in no time. Yes, QuickCreditRepair can help you get out of debt by helping you with fast, easy DIY credit repair tips, tricks, and strategies. With our incredibly helpful and tactful strategies to fix your credit, you can finally live a stress free life with a good credit. Make things easier for yourself and avail the services of the best credit repair services company in town!
What to look out for: If you decide to take out this card and become a member of the SDFCU by joining the American Consumer Council, make sure you do not go to the ACC’s website and submit a $5 donation. That fee is waived by the SDFCU when you fill out your credit application. Simply select “I do not qualify to join through any of these other methods:” and select the ACC from the menu to avoid the $5 fee.

A secured credit card, in particular, is the ideal tool for rebuilding credit. They offer nearly guaranteed approval because you’ll need to place a security deposit that will double as your spending limit. Secured cards are also far less expensive than unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit. And you can’t tell them apart from unsecured cards on a credit report.

So when I came across Brandon's system my credit was in SUCH bad shape. I knew that I didn't want to pay a credit repair company but I also was more then a little intimidated to try to take it on myself. When I stumbled on Brandon's video I felt excitement but also that caution of this feels "too good" to be true. I thought to myself you are either going to pay credit repair agencies hundred of dollars or spend a fraction of the price to test this system, so I bought the program. The videos were very simple to follow and easy to understand and I'm excited to say that after sending my first round of letters my credit score went up 88 points!!! Honestly I didn't know truly how significant that was until I talked to one of my friends who had been working with a credit repair agency for months and had only seen a 50 point jump in his credit score o_o I'm excited to send round 2 of the letters and get my credit score up even higher! BIG THANK YOU TO BRANDON!

Otherwise, the advice you have given is great and works well for a quick boost but having the ability to remove lines of information from your credit history is even better because once it is gone, it can no longer affect your score. BTW - don't take my word or anyone elses for that matter, educate yourself! You can find either of the sources I mentioned just by Googling either of them if you want and I promise you, the more information you have, the better!
Closing out delinquent accounts or those with a history of late payments can also help, as long as you've paid them off in full. Because history is important, if you do decide to close a few more accounts, close the newest ones first. The length of your credit history is 15% of your score, so even after you've paid down your balances, keep your oldest cards open. Be sure use these cards to make occasional purchases (then pay the bills in full), so the card company won't close your account for inactivity.
If you get denied for a major credit card, try applying for a retail store credit card. They have a reputation for approving applicants with bad or limited credit history. Still no luck? Consider getting a secured credit card which requires you to make a security deposit to get a credit limit. In some ways, a secured credit card is more useful than a retail credit card because it can be used in more places.
However, there is a big myth that you have to borrow money and pay interest to get a good score. That is completely false! So long as you use your credit card (it can even be a small $1 charge) and then pay that statement balance in full, your score will benefit. You do not need to pay interest on a credit card to improve your score. Remember: your goal is to have as much positive information as possible, with very little negative information. That means you should be as focused on adding positive information to your credit report as you are at avoiding negative information.
If we can stress any point more than anything- do not forget to make a payment. If you miss a payment in effort to pay off another line of credit, this can debilitate your credit score more than you think. There have been cases of people claiming a decrease in credit score up to 100 points, which has also been confirmed by Equifax. If you are in a situation trying to pay off multiple loans, start small and tick with the minimum payment. Build a budget where you can effectively manage all your bills and ensure that each of them get paid. Only then can you consider putting more money aside for to eliminate debt quicker However, you should never sacrifice an on-time payment for anything. Otherwise, you are sacrificing 35% of your total credit score.
It still could take a little time. I started from zero with a touch of bad but mostly no credit. I got a rediculous card at first with high interest and monthly and yearly fees. Soon as my credit built up with some payments, yours isnt terrible, mine was in the 5's, I was able to get a better card. Dont spend much of your available credit. REALLY try and keep it lower than 30% and your uliliztion will look better and help your score rather quickly. im my case opening a new account with a higher ballance and transfering my debt to it (15 months 0% interest but was a 3% fee to do it) saved a lot of money over paying a couple of cards at 20-24% interest. If you have a good utilization % then you might even close the old account but if you are looking at a big purchase soon then it may be better to keep it open. Either way, my closing that horrible card actually made my score rise because of the newer better replacement card showing up. Again mine was in the 5's so it took a bit for new expanded credit acceptance but once it did it is currently going up very quick and am almost 700's. Id plan on a year though if you have negative stuff but you are ahead of me with your starting score already.
A personal loan may also help improve your credit score. One of the major factors in determining your FICO® Score is your utilization ratio: the combined balances on all your credit cards as a percentage of the overall credit limits on the cards. The lower your utilization rate, the better. Moving card balances to a personal loan might lower your utilization ratio.
Your credit score partly depends on your credit utilization – the amount of debt you carry as compared to the total amount of debt available to you. If all of your credit cards are maxed out, opening a new one increases your available debt and causes your utilization ratio to go down, and that could help your score. But your score will take a ding any time you carry a high balance on any one card. So if you transfer multiple balances to a single card and get close to (or reach) your credit limit, your score will suffer even if your other cards are paid off.
A low credit score can affect almost every aspect of your life, and if you've realized that your negative credit is holding you back, you probably would like to do something to change that... and the sooner the better. You'll find plenty of companies that claim they can repair your credit overnight, or guarantee that they can remove any negative item from your credit report, whether accurate or not. If this sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. The truth is that there's no such thing as a quick credit fix.
How it works: You can add your teen as an authorized user to your account by logging in to your online account or calling the number on the back of your card. The information required typically includes their name, birthday and SSN. After adding your teen as an authorized user, they will receive their own card that is linked to your account. They can use their card to make purchases just like you would.
Credit card consolidation can affect your credit in many ways, depending on which strategy you choose. For example, if you’re consolidating multiple balances onto one credit card, you’ll want to avoid maxing out that card’s credit limit because that will hurt your credit utilization rate (how much debt you’re carrying compared to your total credit limit).
To see any major or fast credit repair, try to balance your credit utilization. In the credit industry, there is something known as the sweet spot, which we covered above. The goal with this tip is to get your credit utilization into this category, or 25%-45%. So, we highly suggest creating a game plan by setting aside all your debt and categorizing in terms of priorities. Ask yourself the following questions:

If you are struggling to pay off multiple credit cards, consolidating your debt may allow you to reduce your interest rates and lower your monthly payment. However, a lower monthly payment can mean a longer repayment term and more interest paid over the life of the loan. Whether you should consolidate your credit card debt depends on your individual circumstances and the terms of the consolidation.

Credit reporting companies must investigate the items you question within 30 days — unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the information provider gets notice of a dispute from the credit reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the credit reporting company. If the investigation reveals that the disputed information is inaccurate, the information provider has to notify the nationwide credit reporting companies so they can correct it in your file.

The Target REDcard™ Credit Card offers great perks that are sure to please frequent Target shoppers. You receive 5% off every eligible transaction made at Target and Target.com. The discount automatically comes off your purchase — no redemption needed. Other benefits include free shipping on most items, early access to sales and exclusive extras like special items, offers, and 10% off coupon as a gift on your REDcard anniversary each year.* Recently, cardholders received early access to Black Friday deals. Reminder: This card can only be used at Target and on Target.com.
Obviously, the higher the utilization percentage, the worse you look. Experts have long said that using 30% of your available credit is a good way to keep your credit score high. More recently, that recommendation has been reduced to 20%. In the $5,000 limit MasterCard example above, 30% utilization would represent a $1,500 balance. Boosting your credit limit from $5,000 to $10,000 would allow for a $3,000 balance and still maintain 30% utilization. (This, of course, is just an example. It’s not likely you would get a 100% increase in your credit line. But any amount will help increase the spread and lower the utilization ratio).
Getting a bump in credit limit on one of your existing cards has a similar effect as getting a new credit card on your credit utilization but is even quicker and easier. Another plus: While you may not get as much of a credit limit increase as with a new card, your credit score will also not suffer the new credit card ding and will benefit from the age of the existing account.
Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion® directly.
Thanks for the helpful information. Being a loan officer, would you please be able to help guide me in the right direction of obtaining a home equity loan or refi on my paid mortgage? My home has been paid off for years now, and I would like to rent it to elderly HUD housing in my community. I need to make some modifications to be able to comply with HUD standards plus some other repairs. However, my credit file is very thin, and I was hoping to be able to use the home as colateral. Is this possible? Any feedback would be a blessing. Thanks so much for your time.
The debt management companies will refrain from making payments and attempt to negotiate a settlement with the creditors on your behalf. In general, credit card companies will collect aggressively for the first 180 days. After 180 days, the debt is written off. Many banks will then sell that debt to collection agencies at a fraction of the face value. Collection agencies are usually willing to take a discounted settlement from the borrower, because they did not pay full price for the debt. These programs can take a couple of years to complete and the negative information stays on your credit report for seven years.
If you are facing financial difficulties, it's always best to contact your lenders, creditors or service providers (such as your utility company or physicians) as soon as possible. Collection agencies and legal fees cost lenders a lot of money, so they are often open to negotiations, which are free. Call, email or write to explain your financial situation (for example, if you have experienced a job loss or unexpected set of expenses due to medical emergency). Discuss a new payment plan and make a good faith payment. At the least, you might be allowed to skip a payment without penalty or lower your minimum payments.
In addition to a cashback program, this card provides valuable credit resources such as free access to your FICO® Score and a Credit Resource Center — just note these services are available whether you’re a cardholder or not. Discover also takes the guesswork out of wondering when you’re ready for an unsecured card (aka a regular credit card) by performing automatic monthly account reviews, starting at eight months of card membership.

Hybrid loan option: CommonBond offers a unique “Hybrid” rate option in which rates are fixed for five years and then become variable for five years. This option can be a good choice for borrowers who intend to make extra payments and plan on paying off their student loans within the first five years. If you can a better interest rate on the Hybrid loan than the Fixed-rate option, you may end up paying less over the life of the loan.

Negative records that you cannot successfully dispute will remain on your credit reports for roughly seven to 10 years. The best way to overcome such negatives is to add a pile of new positive information to your credit reports. Doing so dilutes the negative information and shows that you’re really a responsible borrower who just made a few mistakes. We’ll explain how to go about doing that in the steps below.

While many consumers struggle to pay unsecured debts, bankruptcy is a solution intended for the most extreme cases — cases where families cannot get out of debt any other way. If a debtor has the financial means to repay their debts and gain a fresh start on their own, bankruptcy attorneys would likely counsel them on other options, such as meeting with a credit counselor and starting a debt management plan.

We understand the problems you face every day by having bad credit and will help you clear every negative account on your report fast, and show you how to get large credit limits with 3 simple techniques. If you haven’t thought about credit repair at all, think about it now, because a bad score does not only affect your stance on the loans or debts you take, it can make you jobless, homeless, and devoid of every other service or asset you hold so dear to yourself.

You'll probably have a limited amount of money to put toward credit repair each month. So, you'll have to prioritize where you spend your money. Focus first on accounts that are in danger of becoming past due. Get as many of these accounts current as possible, preferably all of them. Then, work on bringing down your credit card balances. Third are those accounts that have already been charged-off or sent to a collection agency.

Legal Disclaimer: This site is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice. The material on this site is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice and does not indicate the availability of any Discover product or service. It does not guarantee that Discover offers or endorses a product or service. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional.
If you have impossibly high interest on those credit cards, then do cancel them. It doesn’t help to have open credit cards if the interest rate makes it nearly impossible for you to get the balance down. In fact, banks currently have hardship programs, where they will reduce your interest rate TO ZERO if you agree that they will cancel your cards. Yes, you wll take an immediate hit on your credit score, but that will quickly improve as you pay down your credit cards, which you can now do because you don’t have those usurious interest rates to pay.